Clear Channel Media and Entertainment announced the completion of its inaugural Market Engineering Manager Development Program (MEM-Dev) and the third year of the company’s Electrical Engineering Co-op Program — both designed to provide participants with hands-on industry experience in specialist areas within electrical engineering.
Over the past several years there has been a reported decline in the number of engineers entering the radio industry as well as a spike in those retiring and nearing the end of their careers.
The Clear Channel Electrical Engineering Co-op Program was introduced as a pilot program in 2011, and has offered 12 high-potential engineering college students the opportunity to expand upon their technical abilities and education while being exposed to innovative technologies and operational processes at Clear Channel stations across the country. Students alternate semesters working in the co-op program, then returning to school to pursue their academic studies. The students are tasked with projects and assignments geared towards design, troubleshooting and modification of electronic systems and exposed to the development of new technologies. Two participating students will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship for their contributions to the program.
In addition to mentoring young aspiring engineers, Clear Channel also announced the graduation of its first Market Engineering Manager Development Program. MEM-Dev is an elite internal engineering development program designed to support Clear Channel’s existing talent and accelerate professional growth. The two-year program incorporates a personalized curriculum that includes one-on-one coaching, education and testing, coupled with hands-on experience.
Many of the graduates from this inaugural class have already been placed in high-level managing positions within Clear Channel, including:
David Grice: Market Engineering Manager in El Paso
Chris Abbott: Market Engineering Manager in Tucson
Andy Mika: Market Engineering Manager in Waco
Jake Wyatt: AM Transmission Specialist
“This highly-focused program supplemented my initial knowledge and understanding of radio engineering and fast-tracked my growth within Clear Channel,” said David Grice, program participant who was elevated to Market Engineer in El Paso. “It would have taken me 5-7 years to acquire the same experiences I learned in just two years through the program.”
As this first class graduates, Clear Channel welcomes its third MEM-Dev group into the program. Clear Channel will relocate its current class of six to Cincinnati, OH to assist in building a radio studio at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in partnership with the Ryan Seacrest Foundation as part of the hands-on portion of the program.
